North Sea oil firm i3 Energy said today that it had entered into a period of exclusivity with a potential venture partner for the Liberator field in the outer Moray Firth.
The company said it expected to draw up a sale and purchase agreement during the 90-day period, resulting in i3 being fully funded for both the Liberator field development and the appraisal of Liberator West.
The proposed joint venture would subsequently submit the enlarged phase one field development plan (FDP) to the Oil and Gas Authority.
Liberator and Liberator West are thought to contain 80 million barrels of oil.
I3 bought its 100% operated working interest in Liberator from Dana Petroleum in December 2016.
Liberator West will be the subject of a single well appraisal campaign in Q4 2018.
Chief executive Neill Carson said: “The entry by i3 into a period of exclusivity with a potential farm-in partner for the Liberator Licences is a key step on our path to securing the funding for the development and appraisal of the entire Liberator trend.
“The interest from a potential farm-in partner can be attributed to the quality and scale of the Liberator opportunity and the state of project readiness.
“We look forward to working with the potential farminee’s management to conclude our negotiations and towards the safe and efficient delivery of the Liberator development and Liberator West appraisal programmes in due course.”
Chief financial officer Graham Heath said: “Today’s announcement follows a strong start to the year for i3 during which the company has completed a number of material achievements. Upon the successful negotiation of an SPA, this farm-in would be a highly satisfying solution to achieving first oil from Liberator and the appraisal of Liberator West.”
The firm, founded in 2014, is named i3 because its directors were formerly involved with other North Sea companies starting with the letter “i” – Ithaca Energy and Iona Energy.
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